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Page058

ss T HE PRAGTICA L CHRISTIAN.


uow beginn in g to whiten , and radiate up the


horizon , and that on e orit" ray s ( und a bright


one too ) will be your spirituul confere nce at


Berl in, for which I repeat my sin cerest con


grntulatiou s, mill warmest well- wishes. '


Hoping IIi see yo u iit our proposed ex change


on th e 4th Sabbath in Novemher , viz . the 22d,


I urn y ours eve r, in th e


hope of th e Gospel ,


CI, A UDI US BRADFORD.


Dear Br oth er Ballou: •


I spen t a few' dnys, not


long since, in the pleasant town ofA--, and


luhored in my feeble wllY to ad va uce the cause


o f Te/ llpe l'llnce, Peac e and Humanity in that


place, I \\' 8S cordiully rec ~ iv cd hy Ur8. C.


lind J. , with wh om Lspent 1II0St of my tim e. ­These


' br ethren, in some res pec ts , stand nlone


her e, though th ere a re a number who have


more or less sympat hy with th em upon the va­riou


s reforms of th e day. Tho T emperance'


reformation ha s don e a go od work here.- ­There


ar e many right upon th is subje ct. The


work , how eve r, is by no means done. Some'


are yet dec eiv ed. Som e ar e ye t in s la\' e ry . ­Ther


e are heart s here , a lso, wh o fllel for the


oppressed j ye t is th ere need uf'stronger, de ep­er


impression s upon th e gen er al mind upon


th e su bject or S lavery, " F ew feel as they


ou ght. Fewer act 8S th ey ou ght, with refer­enee


to thi s s in. Some are trying to he true'


to the ca use ofthe su ffer ing s la ve. Some per- '


mit diffi cnl ties to damp. lheir ardor. ' U ecnnse


inquity sha ll uhound th e 10l'e o f IIIl1ny sh all


wnx cold.' Difficulties try th e so u l as fire tri es


gold. ) hhe heart be reully in th e good work"


difficult ies which endun'ge r it wi:! arouse tho


soul to grent el' effor t. If it be tme " in appenl' ­nnee


only, th e r1iffil~ ulli es wh ich ari se will uf­ford


1111 exc nse for lell\' jn g tile filllen to peri sh.


Ther e lire some her e ulso whose heurl s hav e


heen tonch ed with the .. ent le , · , Ioctrines of , 0


pea ce allli good will to men . ' AII ind eed ( if


prof ession s a re ' worlh any lhing) ure very de­s


irous of pellcej'and ha ve ltIl abundance ot


i! IIod will tow nnl s th eir fellow men . Huttheil"


lo\' f', lh ey hold, may he mlluifest efl in procluim­ing


war, lind th eir good ~ i ll to ' men, ~ h eti\' n by


cntting th eit · throats., But th er c nre some


here who ha \' e ~ ee n a more exce llent way. ­SOln


e who hllve leol'lled thnt evil., · un he over­cOllie


only with ' goo d, tllBt violcn c, e nil/ I


wro ng n, u st he met aud co nlJuer ed hy . k ind ­ness


und love; thnt th ~ inn ocen t 111111 pati ent


SUffe rings " of good men " fonstitut e th e mo st


powerfnl well pons w" ith which to oppose tho'


sinful nes s of the world. I ani so rry to finll


that sOlne rec eiv e th e leller hill 1101 th e spiri t


of this heav enly principle. " Tlie leller kill ­eth,


but th c s piri t g i\' e th life ." Y es; the spiJ; ­it


giv eth life. ' It g i\' eth th e livin g life of ' the­so


n l. This principle comme nds itsclf to ev e: '


ry holy principl e. It is seen to he tllll princi­ple


whic h Chr ist lived , llIId tungh t. This mll­ny


arlwowlc, lge while ih ey lien y thnt christ ­ian


s cnn or oug h t 10 follow. There is nl)


pow erinthe prin ciple wlt en it thu s euters the


hea, l williollt tou ching th e llfie cti olls: The­,,'


ellrt , th e nffections , tlie 1; lan mll st he " mould ­ell


in to th e il ~ age of J~ slis lJelill'e th e princi­ple


uppe urs in its reul benut y ulld power. ­When


th e heart is th ' lIs filled with tl ie love of'


God it hns pow er over I) the r hearts. It thence


b'() colll es th e instrumcnt hy wide, i, G~ d works


, to bring hOll1e hi~ , e rring e hi ld niil . It has


mighty pow er . \ Vho cnn'lI1e; isure the ' value


of a s pir it of pl'UCCund love in th e sOIlI, which


knows no limit to forh eurnnce? It casts out


se i fisi llies~. It htlljlbl ~; I~ ride'. it disarms re ­\'


fiiige. It c ru shes amhition. " It she ds ' a hur­lTIony


ov er the warring e l" rne nts ofa rebell­iou


s soul. It is nlighty. It s triull1phs ar&


g lorioll~" J1S rewnrels un sellrchllble. ' T he


wor" l filled with vi olen ce is peri shing for its


inflllence. Let it go f~ rth ' in th e name of Je­sus


and cOlll llla nd onle~ und heanly ' and ha'r.'


mony frolll the midst of th e presen t' CIIlIOS. ­Let


il e ver sp ellk in its own Illngllllge. It


IIIUst fj'; ht i,' ilh ' its own wp. upons. It' injures, . 0 ,


itself by wieldillg the weal ion s of th e world.-


Harsh words, ' opprobrious epithets stir lip


wl'llth. Trne' wonls, spokeil in love, thongh'


th ey pier ce th e so1l1 carry with th elllll healing


power. They d ivide the living frolll the dead


flesh : mel heal the 1V0nnd. Some souls have


lIeE'n he uled hy them. They lire giviug thanks


for their deliverancefrolll th e sl n ve ~ y of - 8 i n ~


They ~ vo uld' ijec o'ther s blest ; Tlley ,: would


COMMUNICA'l'IONS.


L1~ TTER TO G. W. STACY. '


Hubbardst on , Oct, 26, 1840.


Deal' HI'.:


\' y .01' th e Un ited Stut es ! Is a ll thi s consist-ent?


~ ' , •


CHR I ST AT TilE POLLS.


it worthy political abol itionist Editor ex ­ho


rt s his brethren to go to the poll s and I: BSt


th ei r vot es j us t as J esu s C hris t would, i f he


were now on earth! T his strikes us most un­pl


ea san tly . It s huc ks us. Cun it he possibl e


that IIny hody believes th e S on of GOII, ifnow


on " eal'th , would be found striving with poli ­ticians


at th e polls, in n sc rambling garrie to


outnumber his opposers ! \ V e sho uld a s soo n


think of seeing him en ga ged in managing a


Bull, or act ing a farce in the Theat re, e r com­manding


a R egilll'clltal l\' Iuster of th e 1\ 1 ilit ia !


\- Ve protest nga inst nil suc h associations n f


th e nam e ofJes us, If hi s pr ofessed di sciples


cannot uhstuin from th ese worldly co ntes ts, by


all means let them s pare our Savior. '


CO R RECTIOX.


In th e articl e on T emperance in the la st No.,


for eeen, 18th line of 3,. 1plll'llgraph, 2d co lumn,


read ever- and in th e sallie pafagl'llph, 61h


line from th e bottom, for but, rend not. There


are som e othe r ty pogrnphi cul errors in th e '


same art icle, hut being easily d etected by the


rend er , we need not noti ce th em. \ V ~ II, F .


The we nth e.-, di stance, impernti ve


eilgagern ents of parochial dUly III home, & c.


will lilit it ont of my pow er to gratify d ie de ­sire


of lily henrt, and be pr cseut at your int er­esting


guthering; wh ere I ha\' e foildl y irn ~ l( ­in


ed to llIy selfthllt you would lillll'llllycollll'l y


with th e injnnetion of the Apostl e, nnd ' whnt­soev


er th in gs ar e true, whatsoever th ings ar e '


honest, whuisoever things are just, whatso ever


things nre pure, whatsoev el' things a re l~ v ely ,'


)'() u would not ollly ' think,' hut, on lhe Ill'll/ Ill,


fre e wings of candid di scu ssion, you won ld


IV/ urnly an d unreservcdly speak ' of th ese


thi ngs.' S uc h, if I mistake uut , is th e lIinl


and object of- you r meeting; and if J caunot


person nlly l18rtlll, e in its promotion, I beg you


10 present my warmest regal'lls to the breth ,


reu aild sil: ltCl'S assell ihled, and lIssnre th elll


thtlt , thongh ab sent in th e hody , I fee l, thut I


a on pr cselll with th em iu s pirit ; lind deepl y


sympnthize with every effu r t which is mad e


to bring Ul: l ne are r to th e stntnre vf ' the perfect


man in Chr ist J esus.' J Ulll convinced, as n


nntion and n world, ~ ve ar e fill' enough ' fi'om


it n o~ v . , We ha ve p ~ o c eed ed hut a very little


\ Vay in the Chris t ian co u rse . I was going to


suy, we had hardly leurlll th ~ first l ett~ r9 ot


th e Christiau Alphabet. Ce rtainly u'e hav e


n ~ t don e mu cll mOI'e . , It is str iking, but la,


IlIlllltabl e ' to reflect how lillIe, liS a gen eral


, thin g, th e grea t mass of ou r cUllnt ry , th c roil­ing


tid e of onr'popular silc tions , th aI are ce ase ·


lessly and restle~~ ly hca vin g to aud fro, nnd


bla ck ening hill nnd dille with th eil' hundr ed s


of thousand s, seem to he s, lVu)' c d a nll go ve\' n,


ed by reli giou s p, · in ciple. Ho\ v ofl, R elig! on


is to be (' egarded by thcm as a so rt of oUlside


gur lllent, ol'lIecent co ver ing, to he pnt 011 ; 1lI(!


off lit pl ensnre, instead of bein g, as it oltght to


, he, a deep - sented principle at the henrt , to reg ~,


ulate e very, motion of th e IIct , or th e ~ vin !-: ­How


far is the war. spirit fi: om heiu g ye, t en­tirely


J'ehuked mid subllll erl by tlie ' mild lind


gentle spirit of th e , Gospe l !- holV h" ye t lIlUS ·


ters his legions, and pr epareS his drullls, aucl .


mnkes bis clllcuhllions for th e' co nflict, co li t ra­ry


to' th e ex press commands of Chdst! Ho; v


Li centiousneEs unbars th e gAtCS which s~ tOuld


confine her polluted wa'ter s, and - threate, ns to


overwhelm ns as with a flool!! HowSlavery


, yet c lllnks her c hains in oxultlltiou ani! defi­ance


in th e ears of an insulted world! How,


and this is on e of the wor st f'eallu- es in th e


picture, nnd no smnll Cllllse of th e whole of it


- how often hns th e \ vol'thy old suying-'-' See


how th ose Christians love on e anothe r / been,


in mOllel'll timp s, reversed to, ' Se~ how tho~ e


Christians hate nnd tear one / lnoth er!' , W hllt


gh a~ tly sc h isms, lJunrrels / lnd ' div isions hRve


re nt ' the se amles s l'oll e of Chril: lt!' How of~


ten hav e some inevitllble difrer ences of opin­ion


on certain , ahstract und ! lon- essentinl


points, ali enat e ~ 1 and embiltere d Ihose who


should be one in c'hrist ! n ht I tru st . that -;; ­new


ent is 8Nlroachi ng ; thut its dawn it uVen


tition suc h a combination of men. bound by


a n oa th to su ppor t s uch .0 Constitution, and


obliged, to e nforce their law s hy sud; bloody


mean s in th e last resort- e- we cannot askthem


to se t nhout su ch a process of ab olishing S la ­very.


I f we ask them to do til is work, ' we


as k th em to do it by ' means which we could


not ourse l ves employ, and of which we us


Christians uuerty di sapprove . If they work


Elt all in comp liance with ourpetition, they ar e


sworn to work ill th e ir own wuy , wh ich is hy


ph ysical viole nce in the last resort. The


swo rd is their gr eat sustaining in s'trumellt. ­Can


we lenn 011 thut ins trume nt ? Call we


petition tha t it may be un sh eathed, ' eve~ to


gua rantee liberty totho sluveP" Certainly not,


as cons lstent Nou- Reslstnuts. So we view the


matter. If we may hy our petition s ask Con­gress


to put th eir fo rc ing machine in moti on,


why may we not also vot e '? , Why not hold


office ? ' \ Vhy not fight ' t o' maiutuin a law ,


which s hould be passed at our request for th e


iiberution o f the s lave? What differen ce in


principle between sett ing othe r men to work


in a wr ong wuy , by wrong means, and doing


that work oursel ves P You muy say- Con­gr


ess in ight / puss an ubolition luw, and not be


ca lled on to en force it. So I may tuke ~ n of­fice


un der an anti- Christinn governme nt,


whose co ns titution upholds S invery du d war,


ye t nev er mys elf be call ed on to SIIPI}/)' rt the


Co nstitution ill tho se respec ts, l\ 1ay 1 011 th at


pr esumpuon take th e office and its onth P No,


I ma}' not thus eu snarc my con sci ence. And


fil l' th e same reason, I Il'llly not ens nUl'e my


con sl: ience by petiti oning a combination of


sworn men to cOlllrn, ence doi ; lg whl, t th ey


must, in the eve nt of l- esistnil ce, she'd hlood to


carry t : l rou gh. I cunnot layout work fol'


snc h men under su ch circumstan ces, uncl say,


" arise, Ill~ t you macllillet'y in motion j" for


IV hen Ihey have ob ey ed my c, all; 01' followed


my connse l, th ey IIltly be impell ed by th eir


oa th of office into utlknow~ curuugc and


s laug h ter. There is n more exce llent wuy for


rne to promote th e ab oliti on of Sl av ery, and


e very othe r good cause. It mllY l'equire a'


longer I'r O<., ess, bu1t~ will be ~ n : nn oCo'i, nt, u


safe and a certain aild a Christinn proc,! l: ls.


These are some of my reasons fol' not pe­titi


oning LegislalUl' cs to ' ena ct lil\ vS fol' th e re­peul


of bad Jaw s. If you 1I, link them ins uf­ficient,


) s ho uld be happy to ha ve your correc t


me. I remain YOllrs iu Christ,


THE E DITOR.


VO ' rlNG.


W h v en nu ot a ti'ue Non . Resistant vote unde l'


th ~ C~ n~ li tu ti oll of th e Uni ted S tates? ' He­cause


that C on~ lilUtion rcquires sOllie things


repugnant tu Christianity, as under stood by a


Nun- Resistn nt ; and hecnuse it o ~ li~ es 1111 who


nre elcl: ted into office , to luk e nn onth or aBir ·


mllti ou, th at they will SUppOl't it entire. A tru e


Non · Resistant cllnnut pnrt icipllte in'lDar, ' nor


aid in upholding sl uvery, uor a~ sist'in takillg


life in any ca se whatsoever. He cnnnot, th el'e­fiJl'e,


hold office under a governme nt whi ch


obli ges him to do these things. ~ nd liS he


ca nno t himself assume the fllnctio'lis of an of­fice,


th e dmies of which he deem s contrary to


Christ ianity, so he cnnnot appoint, nor aiol in


~ Iect i ng, an other lIIan to s llc h an office. TI~ ns


th e Constitmion of the United Stales declllres


th at " the President sh oll. be cOllllllander. in­cbief'


flf th e army and navy of the U. St lillis,"


& c. It al so fleclnres, that , before en teri~ g on


th e duties of hi s office he shall swea r or uffimi,


that to th e best of his ability he " will. preser ' ve,


protect and defcnd th e Constitution," & c.-


-. All officer s are sworn to sn pport th e Constitu ·


tion. A Non · ReSistant canno t be allowed to


tak eoffice and qnalify, with Rproviso, tha t he


, will su pport the Constitution so fhr us he c o n ~


scicntioiJsly can. He must hind "~ imself to


go all lengths in its support, hefore he can be


permilled to dischitrge a sing le duty nnd ~ r it.


He mll st ' enguge to d o all the evil it requires,


before he can be allowed to do nny oflhe gool'.


If a Non - R esistnnt could be nllow ed to do the


good which th e Con ~ titntion req- uil'es, wilhout


bh]( lin~ himself to do th e ev, il, he could hold


office" and of cou rse elect, or holp elect oth ers


to ~ ffice. But now he cannot put another man


forward to flo that which he himself might not


innocently do. And yet we see lhoso who


say th ey cannot conscientiously be a private


in, the militia, 1101' e\' tm pay a war · tax, votillg


for ~ ermMClI< cier- ia - cMe! oCthe army nn d n8-


Mendon, December 1, 1840.


THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN.


~


\


ages ha ve done ; lest it d epart from us, 3 011


we be le ft 10 treasu re up wrath aga inst the da y


o f wrath , in ull th e madness of a re probate


mind. But may it e ver be in us, " the still


~ III ! 1 11 voice" o f God and of Ch rist, helping ou r


i nfil'mii ies, s usla ining our piety , ant ! perfecting


iur holiness. Thus truly baptiz ed into th o


Futher, th ~ S un, and the Holy ' Ghost, may


our light ulways so shine that oth ers, " seeing


o u r goo d works, may glori fy 0111' Father in


H ea ven ." ~ nd , finully delivered by thi, s Spir- ,


it from rhe bon da ge of corru ption wit ha I: e­ge


nera te world, may we all be reinstated ill


th e bliss of th at hea venly parad ise, wh ence


our common natu re in theJirst pair was ban :


ished by sin. S o may th e love of God, a nd


th e grnce of ou r Lord J esus Christ, und the


Commun ion of th e Ho ly S pi rit be with us for


eve r nnd eve r, world without e nd. )


Conclusion of Reply to .' 11. H.


CO} IMUl'iI T I ES,


, I\ I y worthy sis ter has a llude d to th is s ubject.


wish th e goo d and th e tru e would g ive it


he ir - most se r ious and deliberate co nsidera­ion.


I look forwanl wi th high ex pectations


o f good to man kind through thi s instrumental-ty


, The matter is mat uring , and wiil in d ue


irne rip en int o ch eering results. Se veral en -


courag ing Jeller s hav e b~ en received Ii'om OI~ r


frie nds ut a t1istunce, iu relation to th e gtm el- al


prop osition. I wish to hear from -! leveral


nore, who) am s ure would be glad to take


IUl't in 8uc h an en te r pr ize. It has becn deem ­ed


i ne.~ ped ie nt to eularge much on the to pic


n our popel' ; hut our / i'iends abroad lIlay rest


assu red that the di scussiou is go ing on , nnd


hat th e proj ect will not he nbnnd oned without


some nttemp! s to carry it in to exectHion. I


, vonld invite tho se of OUt' br ethren and sist el's


n vUl'ious places, who think filVorably of it, to


eommuni, cute ,,' jlh me on the su hject, , and es-peci


lllly to s ignify wha l amoulit , o, f meall s th ey


nre pr epared to emlmrk in the undertakiug, if


the y can Ilee a rat ional prospect of its success.


The present so cial , state is unfavorable to the


hi gh est d evelopem ent s of Christi un chnl' 8cte r.


We wish qn ietly to es tablish n bell er s tute. ­O


n the principles of our S ta ndurd, it seems to


me, thi s can be clon e. Hereafter) will fur ­ther


enlnrge upon tl ~ i s them e.


PE'rITIO NI:' i'G.


On th is point I s nppose we who have em­br


aced th e S tandard principle s, d iffer fi'om the


member s gen cl'lllly of th e Ne w Englund Non.


R esistnn c e Society. ' Ve hav e sa id thnt we ­cnnnot


petition th e Legislatures ofex islin g hu­mnn


gOI'e rn mcnt" to ennc t Jaw s. Non- R esist­ants


ge ne ra lly refu se to vote ullder ' th ese gov ­ernments


, bill thi nl, it rig ht to petition th eir


L egi slatures on the s u l ~ ec t of Slavery, th e 1\ 1 i-


'-! itia ; & c. ' Ve do not wish to sta nd in their


It ' .. way, no r to involve them in , what may he re-garde


d as our ult raisnl s on thi s point. '" Bm


we ha\' e our views of dUly, which we s ha ll


follow O; lt on our own responsibilit Y. ' V~


hnv e be eu told that we mi ght con sistently,


with oltr. professions, petition for th e repeal of


! aws, tho ugh not for th e enactment ofthem. ­And


) think ! ny s iste r, to whom I am repl ying,


i ntim ates some th ing like this, ' \ vh en sh e says­"'


I hav e thou ght it mu st be right to suy to a ny


wi ck ed mnn- cease to do that wicked deed."


Whht you say is literally tru e; but what you


mean is a differ ent thin g. You mean thai it is '


right, for instance, ' to sny to Congress- repeul


all you i'laws which ' now recognize nnd up­hold'Slllvery


in the Di strict of Columbia, & c.


or. rE'peal all your Illws which ' sustnin the


army and navy. \ V e do not Ree IIny , iiffer­ance


hetween petitioning for the' repeal, or th e


e n~': t lllent of laws. There can be 110 repeal


of an ex isting ' law without ' ll special enactme nt


to 111llt effect. Thns our ' law ' hooks pr esent'


s nc h captions as th ese- o:: T''' An Act, elllilled '


an Act to repeal a n Act ' entitled" thus and so,


passed &, c. Thns 8 rep eal of the existing


toIa ve cod e of the District Of Columhia would


a nd llIllst be an Act, II speci,~ 1' law; And if


s uc h nn nct should 00 passed by Congress and


s igned by th e Presillent, they \ vould be bound


by th e \' l) ry , Con stitutiun-' under wh ieh th ey


c lailll' tht: ir imtlJOJ: i ty, to carry th at Act into ef­fect;


and ifneed be iO ~ llllth e whohiarmy and


navy in to th ei r ser vice. Now we ~ a n n o t pe -

Page 58 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840